DescriptionAspire Public Schools NorCal - Senior Specialist, Payroll
Job Description
About the role
The Senior Payroll Specialist executes and supports the process of Aspire's payroll and supports the payroll team and department. The Senior Payroll Specialist also provides excellent customer service and support to all internal teammates and external stakeholders, working with all levels of the organization, including schools, the home office, and the regional office, as well as outside consultants and vendors.
Key Responsibilities
- Run bi-monthly payroll processes as directed by the Lead Payroll Specialist and/or Director of Payroll.
- Assist the payroll team to ensure approval of semi-monthly timesheets and paycheck distribution to all school sites.
- Respond to payroll questions and inquiries, including W-2 requests and Zendesk and phone requests, within service level agreements.
- Email principals and office managers regarding unapproved timesheets and timesheet errors.
- Enter data and audit changes made in the HRIS system by the Human Resources team, including status changes and new hires.
- Ensure the accuracy of payroll documents for processing (for example, teacher calculations and retro pay).
- Distribute paychecks to school sites.
- Calculate and enter blended overtime information into the payroll system, and correct partial time-off entries imported from the time and attendance system.
- Communicate with school site Business Managers and leaders to clarify and gather missing information.
- Enter timesheets, time-off forms, and pay adjustments, and audit entries against the Pay Check Register.
- Enter employee garnishments, send necessary responses, and process garnishment orders to the state and employee.
- Process off-cycle checks and complete employment verifications.
- Calculate teacher final payouts and PTO/sick time for leaves of absence; calculate and process sick-time transfers to and from other districts.
- Support payroll requests for information from HR and Finance, and year-end tax preparation (tax liability reporting, negative wage adjustments, quarterly and year-end files).
- Follow up on stale-dated checks, collect teacher work calendars from all school sites, and maintain payroll files.
- Ensure terminated employees are paid on time and their Option Pay form has been received.
- Provide excellent customer service.
- Demonstrate knowledge of, and support, the Aspire Public Schools mission, vision, and values, including antiracism, and uphold confidentiality standards and the code of ethical behavior.
- Perform other related duties as required and assigned.
- Support the new Service Level Agreement (SLA) under which Aspire NorCal will provide finance, accounting, and payroll services to Aspire LA.
Qualifications
Education
- Associate's degree preferred but not required.
Experience
- 2-4 years of payroll experience.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office, including Excel and Word.
- Experience or strong interest in K-12 public education.
Skills and competencies
- Strong communication and organizational skills.
- Knowledge of federal and California labor laws; general knowledge of payroll functions.
- Ability to deal with highly sensitive information.
- Strong time management, follow-up, and attention to detail.
- Ability to quickly learn new software packages.
- Ability to balance the needs of compliance with a strong commitment to customer service.
Compensation and benefitsThe salary range for this role is $74,990 to $96,266 annually in accordance with our salary schedule policy, commensurate with experience. This full-time, exempt position offers a comprehensive benefits package, including:
- Eligible for Aspire health benefits
- Retirement through CalSTRS or CalPERS, depending on the role's credential requirements, with a 403(b) option
- Paid time off and additional teammate benefits to be determined in accordance with updated employee value proposition to be shared prior to offer.
Aspire NorCal is conducting a comprehensive study of our employee value proposition, which could lead to material changes in July 2027.
Location and work arrangement- Work location and in-person expectations for this role are being finalized as part of our broader NorCal planning. We will share clarity with candidates in the coming weeks
Aspire NorCal expects to provide Finance, Accounting, Payroll, and Retirement services to Aspire LA under a multi-year service agreement, and part of this department's budget is expected to depend on that agreement. If the agreement is not finalized, is not renewed, or ends early, Aspire NorCal may reduce the department's size accordingly, and any position in the departments listed above may be impacted. Employment with Aspire is at-will
Application Deadline: November 20, 2026.
